Made in Coventry? Seals from Coventry as Evidence of Local Craftsmanship in the Late Middle Ages

This finely engraved copper-alloy seal matrix of the Shearmen and Fullers of Coventry probably dates from 1439, when they were constituted as a corporate body. It shows the Adoration of the Three Kings at the Nativity of Christ. Was it made in Coventry, a notable centre of metal-working? Or was it commissioned by the fraternity from London, where there were more distinguished seal engravers? The scene of the Adoration is unusual among English seals and may have been influenced by Cologne paintings or the pageant performed by the guild. Most probably engraved by a local goldsmith, this seal reveals how such a fraternity wanted themselves represented.